Are you a creative or entrepreneur that wishes you could speak tech with your web development team? Maybe you wish you could code a bit yourself? Programming for Non-Programmers is a workshop series at General Assembly designed to help non-programmers communicate more efficiently with developers. Because leading a development team (without being a developer yourself) can sometimes feels like “talking about dancing”, we’ve created an interactive and friendly environment in which to learn the basics.

If you're running a tech start-up, it's essential that you familiarize yourself with the fundamentals of web development. Ultimately knowing how to "talk to the talk" will help you communicate better with developers, and overall just look really cool. Come with questions, and a desire to have fun!

PFNP 1: Fundamentals (3/2 AM)

In this workshop we'll tackle some development principles to get you on the right path. We'll look at questions like, "Front-end vs. Back-end?", "Is UX necessary for my project?", "What is this Javascript function thingy, and why am I passing it strange math equations to it?". We'll spend about half of the class looking at actual code and writing some basic Javascript, HTML & CSS ourselves.

What coding languages should I use for my next project?

Which CMS is right for the job?

What are the stages of web development?

What deliverables do I need to provide my developer? (FYI - This is important and often neglected or done poorly)

Reading code & basic developing principles to get us started

9 concepts of programming that are the found in every programming language

Understanding Javascript Variables & Functions

PFNP 2: Front-End Web Development (3/2 PM)

In this workshop we’re diving head first into front-end web development! In my work, I’ve discovered that I could be a better programmer by focusing on the good parts of a language, and avoiding the bad parts. After all, can you really build something with bad parts?

This one class (in the series of four) is a sampling from “Crash Course: HTML/CSS”, and therefore students wishing to continue with Crash Course are eligible for a discount, see below.

Setting up FTP, hosting, domains, DNS & sub domains

Basic page layout, divs and IDs

HTML/CSS best-practices

PFNP 3: Back-end Development & SQL Databases (3/3 AM)

In this workshop each student will install a LAMP stack (ie. Linux, Apache, PHP, MySQL). We’ll learn how to navigate around a SQL database, and work through a live project where we can practice coding some basic HTML/PHP/SQL.

Setting up FTP, hosting, domains, DNS & sub domains

Basic page layout, divs and IDs

HTML/CSS best-practices

PFNP 4: Back-end Development & APIs (3/3 PM)

There is a world of API data on the web that you can start integrating into your product right now. It's tempting to want to do it all and keep everything on your own site, but in many situations using third-party API data can save development time and money.

What is an API?

As a non-developer how do I know which APIs are right for my project?

How can I integrate data from services like Facebook, Twitter, and Foursquare into my project?

How do I read through and parse some basic XML and JSON?

Prerequisites: It is suggested (but not mandatory) that you take the introductory workshop in this series “Programming for Non-Programmers: Fundamentals”. You must bring a laptop to class (Mac prefered, as the examples on screen will be for the Mac OS).

Where Do I go From Here?: After this class students will often go on to take Chris Castiglione’s “Crash Course: HTML/CSS”. Students that take the full Programming for Non Programmers Intensive are eligible for a 20% discount on Crash Course:HTML/CSS during for the week of July 30th.

Christopher Castiglioneis a developer with a specialty in UX strategy and Wordpress. He has over ten years of experience developing digital products. In the past, he has designed applications for clients ranging from The Black Eyed Peas, Toyota, Bacardi, CLIF Bar, and American Express. Christopher holds an MA in New Media from The University of Amsterdam. He is currently a member of the General Assembly teaching faculty where he regularly teaches the following courses: Programming for Non-Programmers, Crash Course: HTML/CSS, Business Storytelling and Wordpress Theme Development.

Our Refund Policy: Plans change? We get it. But if you can't make it to a class/workshop, please email us at classes@generalassemb.ly at least 7 days before the scheduled event date. No refunds will be given after this timeframe.